Why Apple’s in no rush to sell you a 5G iPhone

Virtually all of the major players in the wireless industry are scrambling to tie their fortunes to 5G. Verizon will launch its 5G Home wireless broadband service next month. Sprint and LG want to bring out the first smartphone using the next-generation technology. One company is unmoved by the hype: Apple. It’s a good bet that the consumer electronics titan, which on Wednesday unveiled three new iPhones and a new Apple Watch, will opt out of putting 5G into its next iPhone. And it’s still a question as to whether the cellular tech may show up in an iPhone by 2020. Now playing: Watch this: Apple iPhone 2018 event: Editors react 10:59 Apple likes to wait to get the kinks out of emerging technologies before committing them to its products. It lagged well behind its Android counterparts in adopting mobile payments and wireless charging, and it was at least a generation behind in adopting 3G and 4G LTE cellular capabilities. Most industry analysts expect the same lag with 5G, even as the technology races toward reality. “5G is arriving a little quicker than everyone expected,” said Ian Fogg, an analyst at wireless coverage testing firm OpenSignal. If Apple does take the slow road, it would stand as one of the few companies that isn’t immediately embracing 5G, the next generation of wireless technology poised to change the world. There’s been a lot of hype and bluster around 5G, but its enhanced speed, responsiveness and ability to handle multiple devices beyond… [Read full story]